Controllable synthesis of reduced graphene oxide

• A controllable fabrication of reduced Graphite oxide (RGO) via different alcohols was reported.
• The reduction degree of GO was strongly dependent on the type of alcohols due to their different molecular structures.
• The reducibility order of the investigated alcohols was determined as PhOH > EtOH > PrOH > BuOH.

A controllable fabrication of reduced Graphite oxide (RGO) via different alcohols was reported. Characterized and analyzed by X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry, the chemical and structural properties, together with the electro-conductivities of the RGOs fabricated by ethanol (EtOH), 1-propanol (PrOH), 1-butanol (BuOH) and benzyl alcohol (PhOH) were investigated systemically. The results showed that the reduction degree of GO was strongly dependent on the type of alcohol. The strongest reducibility of PhOH was attributed to the special activity of the benzyl hydrogen of PhOH in comparison with the other primary alcohols. Meanwhile, the reducibility of the primary alcohols decreased with the elongation of carbon chain, which might be explained by the gradual attenuation of hydrogen donation ability and the increase of steric hindrance. The reducibility order of the investigated alcohols was determined as RGO(PhOH) > RGO(EtOH) > RGO(PrOH) > RGO(BuOH), indicating the potential controllability of the RGOs reduced by different alcohols for special use. In addition, the electrical conductivity of RGO(PhOH) was found to be similar to that of Graphite.

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